Tag: Period Piece

Wonder Woman 1984: success, lies, and ambitious mistakes

After three years and numerous COVID-related delays, the long awaited sequel to the 2017 landmark hit film Wonder Woman has finally arrived. Due to circumstances beyond the filmmakers’ control, this film is being seen as a sort of…

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Middleburg Film Festival: One Night in Miami and the Battles Over Ideology and Celebrity in Activism

The carrot or the stick. The hawk or the dove. Debates over using aggression or peaceful compromise as a group to achieve their aims is an eternal one. In America, this struggle is currently playing itself out on…

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Middleburg Film Festival: Sylvie’s Love is a Tender Love Story with a Touch of Social Commentary

“Ya know, most people don’t find that kind of love, even for a summer. It’s extraordinary.” Sometimes love isn’t enough. Our feelings for another person may be strong and genuine, but circumstances beyond our control make love affairs…

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Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Provides a Glimpse at the Black Struggle for Basic Respect

The summer of 2020 was an explosive one that in many way mirrored the Red Summer of 1919 with protests and the dark specter of black death spread nationwide and beamed into our homes on the news or…

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Mank Uses Old Hollywood to Examine Current Politics, But Not Enough to Save It

One good way to prepare for change in our own world is to analyze previous societies that were on the precipice of change and how they handled it. What were their successes, or more importantly, their failures in…

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Ammonite’s Stellar Performances Not Enough to Save It

Often times, love affairs begin when two people find solace each other from tough circumstances. A human refuge away from whatever struggles we’re facing, an empathetic ear that can relate to the pain we’ve been through and the…

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Rebecca: On the Constraints of Devotion, the Past, and Class

“To love is to let go.” “You can’t steal second base and keep your foot on first.” These phrases allude to the fact that part of making progress is freeing oneself from the burdens of the past. Life…

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The Trial of the Chicago 7 Shows the Past is Prologue

Fragmented youthful leftists idealistically trying to create a world that may never be, dirty tactics from administration officials who we would later found out are more corrupt than the leftists they seek to destroy, a partisan judiciary, and…

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The Devil All The Time Explores the Corrupting Side of Religion

Religion has long stood at the center of American life and culture, for better or worse depending on who you ask. For many individuals, religion has saved their lives and given them purpose. Once religion becomes intertwined with…

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The Personal History of David Copperfield Provides a Charming New Twist to an Age Old Tale

Providing new twists on old material can be both risky and a heavy lift. Fans of the material become used to one type of interpretation and can often become hostile to anything new. If creatives are able to…

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